As if Donnie Yen's martial arts skills were not enough, the Hong Kong actor is hoping to attract more fans by becoming a sex symbol. The 47-year-old launched a photo book at Hong Kong's book fair on Wednesday that had both women and men swooning at the size and cut of his muscles.

Traditionally, wannabe models release soft porn material masquerading as "photo books" at the annual book fair and promote them by wearing as little as possible. Organizers have "harmonized" the event by banning these types of activities and books, but that has not deterred Yen.

For his book, the kungfu star strikes a number of poses featuring the styles of various martial arts schools, including some taken at the iconic Shaolin Temple.

"You can't get my kind of muscles sculpted in South Korea (by having plastic surgery)," Yen says. "You can't buy what I've got!"

And that's not all. In a further boost to his sexy image, Yen is being called "Cupid" by netizens, after one sharp-eyed observer noted that every time he appears in a film, his female co-star ends up getting married.

"Whenever Donnie plays opposite a mainland actress, the actress ends up tying the knot," says "A Happy Milan Fan", who points out actress Dong Jie, Vicky Zhao and Sun Li all ended up traipsing down the aisle with their significant others after working with Donnie on, respectively, Dragon Tiger Gate (2006), 14 Blades (2010) and The Lost Bladesman (2011).

Based on what is now being called the "Donnie Yen Rule" it looks like Lynn Hung and Tang Wei - who worked with him on Ip Man and Wu Xia - will be the next actresses to tie the knot.

Even hotter than Yen is the rumored girlfriend of Nicholas Tse - who is currently trying to get out of married life by divorcing the errant Cecilia Cheung. The Beijing model Li Meixi has been making the most of her 15 minutes of fame by being photographed locking lips with soccer babe and singer Isabella Yang. Additionally, the Internet has been buzzing with a rumor the pair went to a KTV type of establishment that offers gigolos and there is even supposed to be a video of what they got up to on their "girls' night out". Celebrity Sauce is of the opinion that what's good for the gander is good for the goose. Go girls!

Finally, we're feeling for the plight of former top gymnast Zhang Shangwu, who won two gold medals at the World University Games in 2001 but who was unable to take part in the Olympic Games because of an Achilles tendon injury that forced his retirement.

He went from high bars to behind bars when he failed to find a job and took to crime, stealing computers and cell phones at a sports academy. More recently, he has been begging in Beijing and photos of him performing stunts on the streets have gone viral.

Netizens felt sorry for him and as a result he set up a bank account for donations, which received over 7,600 yuan ($1,177) in three days. But the unfortunate former gymnast faced such a wave of criticism for cashing in on his misfortune that he was forced to close the account.

The high-profile philanthropist Chen Guangbiao has come to the rescue by saying on his micro blog that he would hire Shangwu as his personal trainer and offer a monthly wage of 10,000 yuan.

China Daily

(China Daily 07/22/2011 page20)